Film clubs celebrate culture in cinema

UIC celebrates diversity in many ways, including through its film clubs.

UIC offers four language film clubs: French Film Club, 2-4 p.m. Mondays, German Film Club, 3-5:30 p.m. every other Tuesday, Polish Film Club, 3-5 p.m. Thursdays, Russian Film Club, 3-5 p.m. Fridays.

All screenings take place in 308 Grant Hall, the Language Oasis in the Language and Culture Learning Center. Films are shown in their original language with English subtitles.

UIC’s Russian Film Club began four years ago to promote the appreciation of Russian cinema, encourage transcultural understanding and interactions and combine learning experiences with fun. Students have viewed Russian comedies, historical films, issue films and literary adaptions.

Many films are contemporary but some are from the late Soviet era.

“There is a difference in the length, style, and mood of the movies that are more modern versus those are older,” said Vadim Shkolnikov, lecturer in Slavic and Baltic language and literatures. “Russia started to adapt more Western forms in the 1980s, and films today are more legible and accessible to a Western audience.”

The German Film Club, organized by teaching assistants in the Basic Language Program, was formed to screen films that reinforce topics taught in German classes and provide a venue for lecturers, filmmakers, and authors to speak to students. All films shown were made in the past decade to make the themes foster discussion of contemporary topics.

“German cinema has made such an impact on other European cinema that it is worth learning about,” said Katarzyna Kowalczyk, interim director of the Basic Language Program.

“Attending German Film Club would also be beneficial for those in film and/or visual studies, and can be of interest to those who would like to learn about German history and German culture.”